The Rising Sun
by The Light of Earendil
Summary: Mia and Sri's mother dissapears once a month, leaving the 14-year-old girls to wonder what mysterious secret their mother hides.
1. Ill News

Author's Note Hey! Hope you like it! Please R&R!!!

Disclaimer I don't own any of Disney's characters. Ho hum.

Chapter one: Ill News

Walking along the wharf, the small girl gazed at the sunset and the calm sea. Its crystal-clear turquoise waters gently lapped the edge of the dock, playfully kissing the girl's forehead with small drops.

"Mia!" A cry rang out and an older girl came running towards her. "Mother says that it's time to come in. It's almost dark, for goodness sake!"

Amelia turned and glared at her sister. She hated when Alice bossed her around. She opened her mouth in protest, when she heard a bloodcurdling scream ring out from the eastern dock. Both her and her sister ran to see what the commotion was about.

If there was one advantage to being a small six-year-old, it was the ability to push to the front of a crowd. Amelia was able to squeeze through smaller spaces than her twelve-year-old sister, and reached the edge of the dock first. What she saw there was not something a six-year-old should have seen.

A bedraggled, white-knuckled man clinging to a sodden piece of wood was being lifted from the water by several strong young men. The unconscious, drenched man was laid on his back on the dock. He was alive, but barely. A pool of blood formed below his pitiful form, pouring from a deep wound in his chest.

Alice uttered a small cry when she caught up with her sister. The man looked unpleasantly familiar. She recognized him as Jacob, a friendly sailor on her Da's ship, _The Rising Sun_.

Suddenly, the man's eyes flew open, and coughs began to shake his thin body. Blood sprayed from the man's open mouth. Suddenly, he looked around, eyes wide.

"What happened?" asked a gruff sailor. He had seen worse.

"The….the _Black __Pearl_…." muttered the man. Suddenly, his limbs convulsed, and he died there in the growing pool of blood, eyes still open in shock. And suddenly, Mia knew: her Da wasn't coming home.

Hope you liked it! Please review!! I might change my penname soon so watch out.


	2. Errands

A/N: I will probably be working on this story more than my other one because I don't really have any ideas for Kalea. And "Sri" is pronounced "Shree." It's an Indian name that means light! Teehee a lot of my names have cool meanings so go to to find out what they mean.... Okay sorry it took so long again. Yes, I know I stink at updating. What I'm doing now is developing a story for fiction press. That way, when I put it up, I will be able to whip out chapters more easily because I actually know what the plot is about. I'm winging it right now.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own POTC characters, places, ships, objects, etc. I do own any characters I may make up along the way.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Chapter 2, Errands  
  
Mia sat by the window, staring moodily into the dull fog that had settled on Port Royal. Sri walked behind her, pacing back and forth and muttering something about diseased eggs.  
  
"If you keep this up, Sri, you're going to make a ditch in our floor." Mia said with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"I can't take this any more!" Sri yelled in frustration. Both the girls couldn't bear to be cooped up inside for long, away from the sun. Away from the sea. "Let's go see if Lizzi has any errands for us to run. I can't stand this!"  
  
Mia nodded. "Shelly!" she called to their single servant, a plump little woman in her late 30's. "We're going to the Turner's house. We'll be back sometime before...well...dark."  
  
A short, red-haired woman came bustling in, carrying two heavy coats. "Not without your coats, you're not!" she exclaimed. "I promised your mother I would take care of you! I'm not about to let you catch cold."  
  
Sri sighed. Shelly had taken her oath to their mother very seriously, a little too seriously for her liking. She glared at the coats Shelly carried. They looked like they would suffocate the girls, who were very petite. It was late May, for heaven's sake! Reluctantly, the twins grabbed their coats, kissed Shelly goodbye, and were off.  
  
The girls carelessly meandered through the market place, glancing at various pieces of jewelry and knickknacks. They reached a large, comfortable looking house and knocked on the large front door. A butler came to the door. "Good day, Miss Amelia and Miss Sri. Come in, come in!"  
  
Mia and Sri were as familiar with the Turner home as they were with their own, and they giggled at Gerald's formalities. He was always such a gentleman.  
  
Gerald led the two girls into a comfortably furnished room, with a large window seat and a gorgeous view of the sea. The fog seemed to be clearing up. A dark-haired boy sat by the window, gazing at the sky with vibrant blue eyes.  
  
"Hello, Will-the-third!" said Sri, jauntily. The boy turned around and flashed a dazzling smile.  
  
"Did someone say something...?" Will teased, looking around as if the girls were invisible.  
  
Sri batted her eyelashes at him and looked up at him playfully.  
  
Will grinned at the girls. They were so alike, being twins, but yet so different. Looking at them was like looking at the sun and moon; Golden, outgoing, and sometimes scorching Sri, and quiet, dark, reassuring Mia. Both were brilliant and beautiful, glowing with light.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" complained Sri with a pout. "It is a dreadful day!" She looked out at the diminishing fog dramatically.  
  
Just then, Will's mother, Elizabeth Turner, gracefully wafted through the open door. "Mia, Sri!" she cried as she embraced the girls. Elizabeth had become the twins' second mother since their father's death. Elizabeth lowered her voice. "Any word from your mother?"  
  
Sri and Mia exchanged dark glances. "Nothing yet," said Sri, quietly. "This is the longest she has been gone by far...it's been almost three weeks..."  
  
Elizabeth put on a reassuring smile. Hidden underneath the smile, the twins perceived worry and doubt clouding her face. "I'm sure she'll be back soon. She always comes back. She loves you too much to stay away for long." Immediately after she said it, Elizabeth regretted her words. What if the twins' mother didn't return? What would they think then?  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence, as there always was when there was mention of their unpredictable mother.  
  
Sri was the first to beak the silence. "Well, Mia and I were wondering if you had any errands for us to run. We were so bored, cooped up inside like that. And we thought maybe later...we could practice our sword fighting....?"  
  
Elizabeth laughed. Sri had been so reluctant to start sword fighting, and thought it was improper for a lady to learn. After hearing some of Elizabeth's fascinating tales about her adventures with pirates (Sri was addicted to stories about adventure), Sri gave in. Now she couldn't wait for more lessons with the practice swords Elizabeth's husband had created for them, and often begged to use real swords.  
  
"We'll see after you run those errands."  
  
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Elizabeth sighed. The girls were growing up so fast! They needed a mother, she realized. Not just the part-time mother they had to walk three miles to see, or the thin, sickly woman who required taking-care-of herself. Abby. Her best friend. For years, they had been just like sisters, telling each other their deepest and darkest secrets, always being there for each other, lending a shoulder when they needed a good cry. They kept their friendship alive even after they married (their weddings took place within two days of each other; first Elizabeth and Will II, then Abby and Thom). But then Thom died. And everything changed.  
  
Abby had been fading from her daughters' lives bit by bit over the last eight years, disappearing for longer each time she left. The secret she had been hiding was consuming her life. Yes, Elizabeth was well aware there was a secret. The dark look that passed over Abby's face every time the sea was mentioned; the fainting spells that had accompanied her, leaving her sicker every time; the helpless pleading that showed in her eyes every time she was asked about her disappearances. But what this dark secret was, the secret that was too horrible to even reveal to her best friend, remained a mystery.  
  
Elizabeth recalled Thom's funeral like it was just yesterday. The usually bright, feisty Abby was sullen and dark, dressed in a black mourning gown and a thick veil that hid her tearstained face. It had been a beautiful symbolic mass with an empty casket, as Thom's body had sunk with his beloved ship. Abby was different after that day. At first she was grieving the loss of her husband; then it was something more. She required constant attention from her girls and housekeeper, and was bedridden more often than not.  
  
In some ways, Elizabeth was furious at Abby for letting down her daughters. She also let down Elizabeth herself! Without Abby, there was no one Elizabeth could go to for comfort when she was in a fight when her husband, or when life seemed so pointless that it seemed like she couldn't go on. That was what best friends were supposed to do, right? Abby had been away the day of Will III's birth. But Elizabeth was more disappointed, she thought, about how Abby had left her beautiful daughters to learn the ways of the world by themselves. Of course, they were brilliant, she mused, but every girl needs a mother. I know I did, living with just my father. And with Alice all grown up and married...  
  
But the girls were not fortunate enough to grow up with a father. And Elizabeth had taken over the role of motherhood, which was not an easy job, because she lived three miles from the girls. A decision would have to be made soon, she realized. That is, if their mother did not come back.  
  
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A/N: Aren't you SO proud of me? That was my longest chapter yet. But after reading so many other fanfics, I realize that short, frequent bursts of the plot are easier to handle. Yes, frequent. I'll try, anyway. Thanks so much Lia Silverfang and Elessar*Lover for reviewing:) Next chapter will give you a little more info about the twins. Let me warn you this will not be a typical POTC plot!  
  
Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!!! You don't know how much it means to me. Flames will be laughed at and disregarded. But nice criticism is okay. I want to know how I can improve!! 


	3. Skeptical Musings

**Disclaimer- I don't own POTC….really, I don't.  It's sad, but true.  **

**A/N: Okay now it's time for the cheering and clapping----I've updated almost within _a week!!!_ Be proud of me.  On with the story….**

**Chapter 3, Skeptical Musings**

            Will Turner watched the girls practice blocking and defending with a smile.  They had to be his best students yet.  Even his son, who was the most athletically coordinated person he knew, had not learned this quickly.  They just had a knack for the fighting arts! Mia was a little shy when it came to attacking, and Sri was too impatient when it came to lessons, but that was curable.

            "Break time!" Elizabeth called as she walked outside with a tray of lemonade.  "Maidenly glistening" was not the phrase for what was happening to the twins.  This was _sweat_.

            The duo took the glasses gratefully and fell into a heap on the bench.  They had been outside in the Turner's enclosed backyard practicing for over an hour, and it was _hot_ outside!  Sri massaged her back with her free hand.

            "I feel so _free_ wearing breaches, Elizabeth.  Although it does feel strange to be without skirts," Mia said. 

            "We can't exactly have a swordfight in a dress," retorted Sri with a laugh. 

            Elizabeth grinned. "I remember the first time I wore breaches.  My father had me locked in a cabin so I would be safe when we attacked the pirates, so I pulled on breaches and escaped from the ship to save Will!" She said, looking at Will fondly. 

            "It sounds so romantic, Elizabeth," Sri said with a sigh.  "You're so lucky that you got to go on a pirate ship and have adventures.  Nothing interesting ever happens here in Port Royal! I hate it… well, at least now I'll be able to avenge Da if I ever meet Jack Sparrow," Sri spat out the name like it was poison.

           Elizabeth and Will exchanged a sad look.  "We'll just hope you never have the dishonor of meeting him," replied Will.

            "Oh, I'm going to meet him, alright.  When I get old enough, I'm going to become a pirate hunter.  He's going to wish he'd never been born, once I get a hold of him." A little immature, Sri thought, but it _had_ been her dream since she was a child. She remembered seeing Mia's face when she came running home that fateful day….

            Mia shuddered.  Just the thought of the pirate that killed her father made her feel sick.  Unlike her sister, Mia was terrified at the thought of coming face to face with Sparrow, though she understood Sri's passionate hate.  It was one of the reasons they had really wanted to learn how to use a sword.

            "Sri?" Mia asked tentatively as they walked home from the Turner's home. 

             "What is it, Mia?" Sri didn't like the serious look on her sister's face.

            "Have you ever wondered what life would be like if… if Da was still here? If Sparrow hadn't murdered him? Do y'think Mother would still…."

            "I think about it all the time, Mia.  You know she never disappeared like this when Da was around!"

            "Aren't we enough to keep her here? I mean, doesn't she love us, too?  If there is another man she loves, why doesn't she bring him here for us to meet him? I can't think of any other reason she would go."

            "Life would have been so different if Da was alive. We would be wealthier, we would be a higher class… But I don't think it's a man that's keeping her away.  A man wouldn't cause her to get sick every time she returned.  I think it's something deeper.  Something we can't understand." Sri looked down sadly.  "Do you think she's coming back?"

            "She _has_ to come back.  She will come back.  We need her. I have to believe she's coming home…."

"Will…." Elizabeth murmured as they were preparing for bed.  "Do you… think Jack realizes how many lives he has ruined? How many children have been left fatherless because of him?"

            Will sighed.  They had been over the Jack issue countless times, trying to find a way to justify his actions.  So far, they had not succeeded. "Jack is daft," he said flatly.  "He doesn't think of such things.  He's in the business for the chance to defy the government right under their noses, for the adventure and chance to be rebellious.  And his ship. Jack's a good man, but he's also a pirate.  We can't forget that, Elizabeth.  We want to believe that he wouldn't hurt a fly, but his job is to steal from good people.  We must remember that."

            "I don't think I'll be able to forgive him for what he did to Thom, or his family.  Mia and Sri have no one to support them now.  Alice is too busy with Sam and the baby.  We need a more… permanent solution."

            "Those spare bedrooms are getting awfully dusty. We should have Gerald get someone to clean them."

            "New bedspreads and sheets wouldn't hurt," Elizabeth mused.  "It's a shame to waste such a lovely view of the ocean…" Will nodded in agreement. 

The vote was unanimous.

           **A/N: So what it was really short? I'm writing chapter 5 right now so I may be able to update more quickly:) REVIEW!!**


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